Tagged With digital currency

Bitcoin, the decentralised digital currency, seemed on the verge of disappearing after every scandal, crash or hack. But eight years later, it's not only growing but accelerating, with the price of a single BTC "coin" recently climbing above $5400.

And it isn't the only cryptocurrency; competitors include Litecoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum (a currency that supports "smart contracts"). These graphs, videos and explainers contain everything you need to know.

While Bitcoin gets all the attention, the blockchain technology it's based on can be used for a wide variety of applications, such as tracking ownership or the provenance of documents, digital assets, physical assets or voting rights. Here are some of the ways blockchains could improve business and government.

Predicting the future is near impossible -- but that doesn‘t stop us all from having a red hot go. Human beings have been predicting the future since the beginning of history and the results range from the hilarious to the downright uncanny.

One thing all future predictions have in common: they‘re rooted in our current understanding of how the world works. It‘s difficult to escape that mindset. We have no idea how technology will evolve, so our ideas are connected to the technology of today.